Alice braces for rain record breaker

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting heavy downfalls across the Alice Springs region this weekend will be enough to break the record for annual rainfall.

The bureau's Max Gonzalez says a large system is moving southwards and is expected to dump rain on central Australia.

He says only 20 millimetres is needed to make 2010 the wettest year on record.

"The monsoon trough is actually moving southwards across the Territory and from today we should expect late showers and very wet conditions over the weekend," he said.

"Twenty millimetres of rain is what we need to break that record and that's more than possible."

The bureau is predicting a return to normal rainfall patterns after the new year.

Mr Gonzalez says central Australia has been under the influence of La Nina, causing heavier than normal rainfall across the region.

However, he says there are indications that La Nina has already peaked and the weather looks back to its normal phase, which means a dry start to the year.

"Last year we actually had the driest year on record and now we're going for the wettest year on record, so it's been very mad because of El Nino and La Nina patterns ... these patterns are actually going back to normal or look like they're going to be back to normal next year, so hopefully rainfall will go back to the average," he said.

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